Improvement in priming- metallic cartridges



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TIMOTHY J. POWER, Ol" NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSlGNOR 'lO J. P. FITCH ANI) J. R. vVAN VECH'IEN.,

IMPROVEMENT IN PRIMING METALLIC CARTRIDGES.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

To all whom it 4may concern Be it known that I, TIMOTHY J. Pownn, of the city, county, and State of' New York, have invented new and usctul Apparatus for Pruning Metallic Cartridges -and I hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,

and exact description of the saine, reference being had to the drawings which accompany and form n part of this specification.

Of these drawings-ly l Figure l, plate l, is a front elevation ol` one form of my apparatus, which may be conveniently operated by hand, though it may he driven by power, it desired Figure 2, same plate, is a side elevation of this apparatus; and

Figure 3, same plate, is a detail view, showing, in section, a partei the spindle which carries the cartridge-case, the latter being represented, in elevation, init-s proper position in the spindle to he primed.

For the purpose of still more fully illustrating my invention, I have also shown in the drawings another form in which my apparatus may be constructed. This modification of it is specially designed to be operated by power, and

Figure l, plate 2, represents a side view of it, and

Figure 2, saine plate, a plan. A

Figures 3, 4, and 5, same plate, are detail views.

Similar parts in each of the plates, respectively, are designated by similar letters.

This invention consists in priming cartridges by the employment of centrifugal force generated by spinning the shell on its own axis.

In the drawings- A, plate 1, is the frame or body of the apparatus, which I prefer to make ol` a light casting.

B is a. bench, table, or other suitable support, upon which the frame Ais bolted, or otherwise properly secured.

C C are heads, in which are formed suitable bearings, upon which the driving-shaft I) revolves.

F, is a lug, bored vertically, to receive the spindle or cartridgecnrrier F, which is sofitted as to more easily up and down through the lug.

G is a bevclled li'iction-pulley, fast' on the shaft D, and revolving with it.

H is another bevi-lied friction-pulley, fast on thc spindle F, and so arranged and bevelled, relatively to the pulley G, that it is capable of being brought into contact with the hevellcd face of the latter, when the spindle F is raised, and therebyfrotated by the friction between its surface and that of the pulley G.

The lower end, fi, of this pulley H, forms a shoulder,

which prevents the spindle F from slipping too far through the lug E.

The friction-laces of these pulleys (l and H may be covered with leather, orl;o|1st-i'nctcd in any other mauni-r which will providiA for the requisite amount of friction between them.

lho ends oi'thc shalt D and spindle F, upon which these pulleys are respectively placed, terminate, rcspcctively, in screw-throznls b and b, whereby, in connection with the nuts c and d, and (in tho case of the shaft D) with tho washer a, the pulleys are made properly 'ast on their shal'ts.

I is a pulley, also t'ast on thc shaft I'l, over which may pass a drivihg-lmll-,to giro motion to the apparatus when it is desired to operate h by power; or the shaft Dmay be drin1 by hand, by means ot' a crank fastened at its extremity, in any convenient manner.

The spindle or cartridge-carrier F, as shown, may bo somewhat. larger in diameter at its lower end than it is at the other parts ot' its length, in order more conveniently to receive the cartridge-casosj, and also in order to enable a shoulder, i', to be i'ornicd on it, to prevent the spindle from beingr raised, through the lug E, beyond a certain point.

This lower cud of the spindle is designen to receive the cartridge-cases to he primed, and is bored oi'a diameter such that the cases, when inserted within it, with their flanged ends, 11, downward, will flt into it snugly enough to be revolved with it when it is rcvolved, and ot' a depth such as to equal about halt the length of the cases.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows:

The workman first introduces, ill any convenient manner, into any desired number oi thc empty cartridge-cases, the requisite charge of detonate, and places the cases before himself', upon the bench or table upon which the apparatus is secured. He then takes them rapidly up in succession, and, with his thumb and tinger, inserts them into the cavity, h, in

-the spindle, and, at the same time, presses the case and spindle upward with a slight force. This raises the spindle until the 'iction-pulley H comes in contact with the friction-pulley G, which latter' is all the time rapidly revolving; and, as soon as this contact takes place, a similar rapid revolution is imparted to the spindle, and to the cartridge-case, and the liquid detonate is, by centrifugal force, driven into and properly deposited in the flange g. Only au instant is rcqnired to prime each case, and it is then withdrawn, by the workman, from the cavity h, and set aside till the detonate is dry.

In plate 1, the red lines show the position of the In .plate 2, A is the bed-piece of a machine, which will be seen to be somewhat largerthan the one just described; f f

B is a frame, for supporting the various shafts to be hereafter mentioned.

O isV the main driving-shaft, turning on suitable bearings in the frame!V B, and

D is the main driving-pulley.

E is another shaft, also turning on hearings in'the 'frame and hed-piece A.

Fis a pulley, fast on the shaft C; and from this pulley a band passes over the guide-pulleys u; w, (which -are secured on a shaft tnming on hearings in ears :c x, vattached to theframe,) to the pulley S, on the shaft E, and-thereby turns the shaft E, and also the pulleys G, Q, and R, which are fast upon it.

From the pulley G, a crossed band transmits motion to a pulley, M, which is best seen in fig. 4, and which iarranged as follows:

A bracket, W, is bolted, at l, to the hed A, and, at

'its forward end, a hole, m, is bored through it. Into this hole is fitted, so-as to turn easily', a short shaft-,73 provided with collars, .s and s', above and below the v bracket, and so placed as to admit ofthe ready rotation of the shaft. l

The pulley M is fast upon this shaft, and turns with it; and through the pulley and shaft ahole, j, is bored,

the object of which will be explained presently.

From the pulley Q, a band transmits motion to a friction-pulley, U, on a short shaft, 1:, having its hearing'in the arm c, attached to the under side of the bedpiece A.

' From the pulley R, a band transmits motion to thc pulley?, which is fast on and gives rotation to a shaft,

O, turning in proper bearings in the frame B and bedpiccetA. 1 "i" v H is a loading-wheel, for conveying the cartridgecases which are to be primed to the receptacle in which the priming is contained. It is fast on and turns with the shaft I, which revolves on bearings in the frame B and bed-piece A.

J is a pulley, also fast on the shaft I; and upon the upper edge of its circumference it is provided with a worm-rack.

On the shaft O is an index-wheel or pinion, w, hav- I ing, on a part of its circumference, a worm-screw, corresponding and gearing with the worm-rack on the pulley J.

This worm-rack and worm-screw are omitted from the drawing for the sake of convenience, but their construct-ion will be readily understood by mechanics.

' As the worm-screw-is uponv only a portion of the circumference of the pinion wz, the pulley J will have an intermittent motion, being rotated only when that part of the pinion which has the screw upon it is in gear with the rack on the pulley; but the screw cxtends over a sucient portion of the circumference of the pinion to give to the pulley J, at each partial rotation, a movement about equal to the distance from centre to centre, between two of the recesses, y, in the.

loading-wheelH; and, as this carrying-wheel is fast upon the shaft I, it has precisely the same motion as the pulley J, which drives it.

K is a feeding or hopper-wheel, fast on the shaft O, and driven by the pulley P, before referred to as being also fast on this same shalt O. This feed-wheel stands horizontally a little below thc loading-wheel H', and has-a constant revolution when the machine is in operation, and is designed to feed the empty cartridgecases to the loading-wheel H.

K and N is a guidey which I prcfer to cast in one piece. It is bolted or otherwise properly secured to, the bed-piece A, and is so shaped and arranged, with of the latter, and to project above it farenough to constitute from a to -b, fig. 2, a. rim for said fecdfwheel; and is also' so shaped and arranged,- wit-h reference to the loading-wheel H,vas to stand just' outside thereof for a part of its circumference, and to project above it far enough to constitute, from b to 52.3. rim forl said .loading-wheel. I

The object of this guide is to properlydirect, to and around the loading-wheel, the cartridge-cases which are introduced into the feeding-wheel prepara.` tory to being charged; and from a to b, as well as from 'a to q, it performs this occ; and from a to o it constitutes a finger, Vi for discharging the cartridgecases, after they are primed, ont upon the top of the bed-piece A, which thus forms a ltable for the purose.

p Upon 'the upper side of the pulley M is placed a charging-hopper, h, which may be cast in one piece with the pulley, and which contains the detonatc in a fluid state. a l

Over this hopper stands the arm 'n of aliftingrod, L, which has a slight range of upward and downward travel, and which slides in proper bearing seats jj, in the frame B and bed-piece-A. This lifting-rod is moved up and down by a crank-pin ou the shaft C, shown in dotted lines at d, fig. 1, and also shown more fully in tig. 3.

This crank-pin works in a curved slot, in the liftingrod L, as seen in fig. 3, and by its revolution, which causes it to travel from end to end of the slot, alternately raises and lowers the lifting-rod, in a manner which will he obvious. y

Through Athe forward part of the arm n is thrust a wire, shown on an enlarged scale at 2 z, fig. 5, about one-eighth of an inch in diameter. This wire is capa ble of adjustment bythe nger-,screw t, and extends down into the liquid detonate in the hopper h, and is made of a size to pass easily through the hole j, in the shaft T.

'lhe under-side of the collar s and the shaft r are counter-bored, and into the connterbore is inserted a leather washer or packing, o, secured in place by a metal follower, p, which is screwed into the counterbore, and both the washer and the follower' have a. hole through them of the same size as that iu the shaft r.

The washer o serves as a sort of stulling-box for the wire z, but the detonate does not drop through the hole j, even when the wire is not in the latter'.

A tixed stirrer, u, is properly secured at one end to the bed-piece A, while its other end enters the hopper,

`and bends forward nearly to the centre of the lutter, and, during the rotation ofthe hopper, forces the detonate properly to the centre, so that a sufficient qua-ntity is always beneath the wire z,

T is another lifting-rod, also having a slight upward and downward travel, and sliding in proper bearingseats e e, in the frame B and bed-piece A. This lifting-rod is moved up and dow'n by a crank-pin d',in the shaft C, in a manner similar to the lifting-rod L, already described, and has at its upper end a shaftarm, f, containing a seat into which tits easily a spindie, shown in'dotted lines at g, fig. l. The lower end of this spindle has cutin it an annular groove, i,- into which the unliangcd extremity of the cartridge-case is designed to t.

hold the empty cartridge-cases while they are being conveyed by the loading-wheel to the char fing-hopper Il, to be primed, and, when loaded, to the finger V, to be thrown out upon the bed-piece or table A.

The operation of the machine. is as follows: The charging-hopper a is filled with liquor detonate; the parts are set in motion, and the workman feeds reference to the fecdiwheel K,as to stand just outside y y are recesses in the loading-wheel to receive and by hand the empty cartridge-cases into the feeding-wheel K. This, by its revolution, carries them round till the foremost one enters one of the recesses y, in the loading-wheel, it being guided properly into the recess by the joint action ofthe parts K and N.

The worm-pinion w is so combined withthe wormrack pulley J, that the screw on said pinion is in gear with saidrack just when the empty cartridge-ease en'- ters its recess and consequently, as soon as it enters, a partial rotation is imparted to the pulley J, and hence to the loading-wheel H, which latter, as it revolves in a direction opposite to the motion of the feeding-wheel, carries the cartridgecase forward a certain distance, when the pinion russ ont of gear with the pulley and the loading-wheel stops. The pinion, however', continues to revolve, and soon cornes again into gear with the pulley, and when it does so, the next case enters the next recess, and the loading-wheel is again turned the same distance.

.This operation is repeated until the iirst cartridgecase has been carried underneath the charging-hopper h, by which time the pinion has again rnn out of gear and the loading-wheel has stopped.

The crank-pin tl, on the driving-shaft U, is so arranged as to commence raising the lifting-rod L at thc instant the pinion comes into gear with the pulley, and to cease to act upon it the instant the pinion runs out of gear with the pulley. Hence, whenever a cartridge-case comes underneath the charging-hopper h, the lifting-rod L, being no longer acted upon by the crank-pin, falls the entire length of its travel, and, in so doing, carries down with it the arm n and wire z, and thereby ibrces from the hopper .71. a small quantityA suflicient for one charge, oi' the liquid detonate through the hole j, and drops it into the bottoni of the cartridge-case.

As soon as this has been done, thc pinion comes again into gear with the pulley, causing the loadingwhcel to be again partially rotated, and carrying the primed cartridge away from the hopper h and towards the lifting-rod '.l.

lVheu enough of these intermittent movements have been made to bring the, primed case beneath the irod ,l, the 'latter drops, and thereby brings the annulargroove i, in the spindle g, down upon the ipper end of the case, over which it lits snugly, and also brings the lower end ot` the case down upon the friction-wheel U,

which is all the time revolving with great rapidity.

The moment this takes place,'the friction between the surface of the wheel U and the lower end of the cartridge-case, causes the latter, together with the spindle y, to be rotated with extreme velocity, the spindle, as before observed, being'made to turn freely in its seat.

The centrifugal force thus developed throws the case.

It is to be observed that the movements ofthe twoliling-rods L and T are so timed, that the former is charging one case at the same instant that the letter is forcing another cese down upon the frictionwhcel U.

I have described and recommended the use of -nid or semi-duid dctonate, and I consider that the safest and best form in which to use it in this process ot priming; but l do notconiine myself to that form or condition of detonate. It may be used in any sta-te of fluidity or dryness, at the option of the manufacturer.

It will be obvious that many modifications may be made in either oi' the forms of apparatus above described, and that other and diiierent apparatus may be constructed which will accomplish the same purpose. I therefore wish it tobc distinctly understood, that I do not confine myself to any particular apparatus; nor do I claim as my invention the arrangelneut of `the parts shown in plate 2 0i" the dra-wings.

l ain aware that it is claimed that cartridges have been primed by hand, by revolving the shell in the horzental `plane oi' a circle, abouta centre exterior to the shell. Whether this claim is true or not, I .wish it to be understood that I do not claim that mode of priming cartridge-shells to he my invention. My invention consists in the priming of cartridges by centrifugal force, generated by revolving the shell on its own axis. Y Y

But having thus made known two forms in which my invention has been successfully applied in practice,

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, s

Charging cartridge-cases with detonate, by means of on its own axis, substantially as described.

T J. POWER.

Witnesses:

S. D. CozznNs, J. W. BUTLER.

priming into its proper place inthe flange of the cartridge-case; and as a single instant suices i'r l operation is repeated with each successive cartridgethe centrifugal force generated by revolving the case l Y 

